Anti-terrorism bill stalled by filibuster

Rep. Eun Soo-mi of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea hugs a fellow lawmaker after ending the country’s longest filibuster of 10 hours and 18 minutes at the National Assembly, Wednesday. In the below photos, the lawmaker drinks and exercises during the speech. / Korea Times photo by Koh Young-kwon

By Kim Hyo-jin

Lawmakers of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK) continued filibuster speeches for a second consecutive day, Wednesday, in a concerted effort to block a National Assembly vote on an anti-terrorism bill.

The tactic was adopted Tuesday night after National Assembly Speaker Chung Ui-hwa exercised his authority to put the bill, backed by the ruling Saenuri Party, to a vote at a plenary session.

The battle between parties over the anti-terrorism bill is heating up because the ruling party is criticizing the opposition over delaying the vote.

While saying it is a last resort, the MPK vowed to continue its filibuster until the Saenuri Party agrees to amend details of the disputed bill, which it claims could lead to abuses of power by the nation’s spy agency.

The Saenuri Party, for its part, claimed that it will hold out for the passage of the bill, dismissing the opposition parties’ move as a form of vote-seeking ahead of the April 13 general election.

“The filibuster is the opposition’s last resort to stop the parliamentary dictatorship driven by the majority’s votes,” MPK floor leader Rep. Lee Jong-kul said in a party meeting. “If the bill is revised in a way to limit the authority given to the National Intelligence Service (NIS), we can agree on endorsing it despite its many loopholes.”

The MPK has long stood against the bill that aims to put a new counterterrorism control tower under the authority of the NIS and allow the agency to engage in the surveillance of private communications of people deemed to be potential terrorists and track their whereabouts and financial transactions.

The MPK, along with the minor Justice Party and the People’s Party, mounted a filibuster campaign at the start of a plenary session Tuesday to prevent voting on the bill. The Assembly speaker tabled the bill earlier that day, saying that the legislative deadlock needs to end in the face of potential terrorist attacks by North Korea.

The Saenuri Party has rejected calls to amend the bill.

“The NIS’s activities won’t affect normal citizens, but apply strictly to those under suspicion of involvement in a terrorist group,” said lawmaker Lee Cheol-woo, a member of the National Assembly Intelligence Committee, adding surveillance of personal communications would require warrants or a presidential endorsement.

“We can back down no more as we have already suggested putting the control tower under the Prime Minister’s office and deploying officials who will monitor possible violations of human rights,” Cho Won-jin, the Saenuri Party vice floor leader, said.

The ruling party plans to wait and see what happens next without opening negotiations for amendments, according to party officials.

Saenuri Party Chairman Rep. Kim Moo-sung expected that the filibuster will eventually end Friday, the deadline by which rival parties agreed to endorse the bill aimed at renewing the electoral map for the upcoming election.

“As the election bill is scheduled to be put for a vote on Feb. 26, they will have to stop the filibuster and join the voting,” Kim said.

The opposition’s filibuster marked the first time since the National Assembly Law was revised in 2012 to allow one lawmaker at a time to talk during a debate for an unlimited length if they intend to delay or prevent a vote on a bill backed by the majority.

“Unlimited speeches won’t stop easily. We will continue until no one else volunteers,” Lee Choon-suak, the MPK vice floor leader said at a press conference, hinting that the filibuster could continue until March 10, when the extraordinary session expires.

According to the National Assembly Law, the filibuster stops with the end of a parliamentary session. It can also be stopped if 60 percent of all lawmakers vote for this. The Saenuri Party holds 157 seats in the 300-seat Assembly.